Brexit tore apart European science — now the research rifts are healing

‘Reset talks’ between the UK and EU officials are due to take place later this summer. Credit: Benjamin Cremel/AFP/Getty Ten years after the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union, there are signs that their relationship in research is healing. One big win came with an agreement in April: starting in 2027, the United Kingdom will rejoin Erasmus+, an EU exchange scheme used by PhD students and university staff. Another is the news that the UK share of funding from the EU’s flagship €95-billion (US$110-billion) Horizon Europe funding scheme has begun to recover after the country rejoined the programme in 2024. UK participation in EU research projects had tanked in the wilderness years between Brexit and the country’s reassociation with Horizon Europe, but has increased since 2024 (see ‘EU funding access’). The political will to further rebuild UK–EU science relations is there, in part. The United Kingdom’s Labour government is slowly following through with its manifesto pledge to build a closer relationship with the EU . As part of ‘reset’ talks that began at a summit in May last year, the EU and United Kingdom hope to eventually reach deals on science-related issues, such as a mobility programme enabling young people to study and work across borders. …